February 19, 1999
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – As the 1998-99 Virginia Cavaliers look toward the spring season, they have very high expectations. After an overall third-place finish and a second eight that rowed away with a national crown at last year’s NCAA Championships, head coach Kevin Sauer’s hopes to build on last year’s success.
“We have done well before,” said Sauer, who has led the Cavaliers to back-to-back NCAA championship appearances. “It is going to be hard to improve on how well we have done. To achieve this goal, we need to be consistent day in and day out in practice. We need to make sure we stay fit and focused on that goal, even if it is an easy day or a technical day. We need to continually improve technically, but also improve as racers and practicers.”
Ranked second in the nation in the 1999 U.S. Rowing Coaches preseason poll (behind defending national champion Washington and ahead of Michigan, Brown and Princeton), Virginia appears ready for the challenge. Designed to help the team peak at the right time, “our schedule this year is not as hard as it was last year,” said Sauer. “Last year’s schedule was too hard. We were overscheduled, but we learned a lot.”
Still, many competitive races remain. Following a late February tuneup at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston, Mass., Virginia competes in the San Diego Crew Classic, in San Diego, Calif. The Cavaliers expect to encounter many fast crews, including Michigan, Ohio State, Yale and Washington. The team then heads to Ohio for a double dual regatta with Michigan and Ohio State.
Next comes the George Washington Invitational where UVa squares off with Navy, Georgetown and George Washington, followed the next day by UMass, which finished fourth (behind the Cavaliers) at last year’s NCAA championships. On April 17, the Cavs host California, Michigan State, and Harvard’s Lightweights.
“Those teams will be coming all the way across the country, so they won’t be coming here to give us the race. It is going to be a challenge,” said Sauer.
Virginia goes on to face Princeton, Georgetown and George Washington two weeks later. The spring concludes with the Eastern Sprint Regatta, which is the qualifying regatta for the NCAA Championships, and then the NCAA Championships on May 28-30.
“It is a pretty packed schedule,” admitted Sauer. “However, there is some rest in there periodically, so hopefully we will be able to race hard at the right times.”
Varsity
Sauer is counting on a large contingent of returning varsity rowers to help keep the team focused throughout the season. Among those who are expected to provide veteran leadership are seniors Sarah Harrick, Andrea Saathoff and Ellen Perry.
Harrick is the returning coxswain from last year’s varsity eight. She joined Saathoff in the bronze medal-winning boat in the eights race at the U.S. Elite National Championship in July of 1998. Saathoff also won a silver medal in the fours race at that event and later represented the United States at the Under-23 World Championships. Perry stroked the varsity eight last year.
Other returning varsity rowers include seniors Cinda Ewton, Charlotte Kraenzle, Erin Lieb, Ang McCallum, Kara McPhillips and Charlotte Quesada.
From this nucleus of talented veterans, Sauer hopes to find a strong leadership corps which will encourage the younger rowers and work well as a group. “Rather than focus on a few individuals, the group will help us to improve because of their intensity and competitiveness,” said Sauer.
Although Virginia’s graduation losses aren’t extensive, they are substantial. Among the recent graduates are Amy Burns, whose departure Sauer described as “a huge loss.” Burns rowed in the second varsity eight last season and stroked the varsity eight for three years. Other key losses include Brook McFadden, who competed in the Under-23 World Championships and Kirsten Eckelmeyer, considered one of the most powerful rowers on the team.
To help fill the void left by the departure of this trio, the team welcomes two talented freshmen, Carrie Huttenlocher and Barb Sheehan. Huttenlocher was a high school national champion in the eight and the single. She also captured the bronze medal at the 1997 Junior World Championships. Sheehan stroked the Canadian pair that won the bronze at the 1997 Junior Worlds. “These two freshman are definitely going to make an impact,” said Sauer.